Reading’s Access and Disabilities Working Group heard strong testimony on inclusive music, support for deaf children and everyday access issues at its latest meeting.
Berkshire Music Trust director Jamie Read explained the trust is opening up music-making for all ages and abilities. He said the trust now has around 9,500 orchestral instruments, “every Western instrument you can think of”, and runs monthly music groups for people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), plus extensive schools and adult sessions. The trust has a new inclusive instrument library (the second of its kind in the country), sensory music pads, a sensor beam that can play a full musical scale, lighter plastic instruments and iPad-based Clarion software tailored to individual needs. It also works with refugees and pupils in alternative education and places music projects in libraries to tackle social isolation; it is now primarily seeking volunteers rather than donations.
Rania Sammour, National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) community connector for Berkshire and a mother of a deaf child, gave local figures and warnings. She said there are 872 permanently deaf children in Berkshire and an estimated 120 deaf children aged 0–18 in Reading, with up to 8 in 10 children experiencing temporary hearing loss through glue ear. She warned some deaf children are not identified until later, that delays in Education, Health and Care Plan assessments can slow access to specialist support, and that access to British Sign Language (BSL) courses remains “a mess.”
Mrs Sammour said NDCS offers a helpline, community grants, specialist education and audiology advice and free information, and wants “a world where anything is possible for deaf children”, calling for better deaf awareness, clearer support pathways, more BSL options and stronger deaf role models.
Councillors were updated on new audio information buttons at bus stops, funded through Reading’s £16 million Bus Service Improvement Plan. The yellow buttons, fitted to shelters and flag poles, give a spoken readout of the next three departures with adjustable volume and speed. While welcomed for blind and visually impaired passengers, Phib, a wheelchair user, said the volume at Cemetery Junction was too low during the day; council officers pledged adjustments and more promotion so people know how to use the system.
Feedback from a recent “tour of the town” (West Street, Station Hill, Victoria Street and Broad Street) flagged ongoing access problems: unclear tactile crossings, puddling, uneven pavements, tree root damage and clutter from food vans and street furniture. One attendee said they were struck by a metal pole on the way to the Town Hall. Councillors promised to work with licensing and highways teams and asked residents to report precise locations so hazards can be removed “and essentials remain”.
Councillor Andrew Hornsby-Smith (Labour, Church) confirmed the next Festival of Inclusivity sports day, run with Sports Together in Berkshire, will be 9.30am–1pm on Thursday 23 July at Palmer Park. Last year’s event drew 30 to 40 participants; organisers will do “whatever they can” to help people with dementia and others with additional needs take part.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
